But behind the scenes, the intensity of the reaction from those in Mr. Christie’s party caught him by surprise, interviews show, requiring a rising Republican star to try to contain a tempest that left him feeling deeply misunderstood and wounded…

The tensions followed Mr. Christie to the annual meeting of the Republican Governors Association in Las Vegas last week. At a gathering where he had expected to be celebrated, Mr. Christie was repeatedly reminded of how deeply he had offended fellow Republicans.

“I will not apologize for doing my job,” he emphatically told one of them in a hotel hallway at the ornate Wynn Resort…

Inside the Romney campaign, there is little doubt that Mr. Christie’s expressions of admiration for the president, coupled with ubiquitous news coverage of the hurricane’s aftermath, raised Mr. Obama’s standing at a crucial moment…

“Christie,” a Romney adviser said, “allowed Obama to be president, not a politician.”

Romney 2012 donors, many of whom were doubtless prospective Christie 2016 donors, are supposedly “furious.” Two things here. One: While Christie will wisely and strenuously attempt to frame this as an argument over whether he was supposed to “do his job” in the aftermath of a ferocious disaster, that’s a total red herring. The objection isn’t that he worked with Obama, it’s that he seemed bizarrely determined to lavish fulsome praise on the guy with election day bearing down. He could have simply said, “I’ve been working with the president throughout the crisis. He and FEMA have been helpful.” Mike Bloomberg, who ended up endorsing Obama, politely declined his request to visit NYC after the storm on grounds that it would have been disruptive. Christie could have done that too. Bottom line: How would it have interfered with Christie’s ability to “do his job” if he had merely refused to provide Obama with a glorious bipartisan photo op just a few days before the election? Was O not going to take his calls for FEMA aid anymore otherwise? It’s impossible to believe that this was all a product of storm-induced blindness to the political implications rather than Christie working an angle to appeal to Democrats in New Jersey ahead of a tough gubernatorial race potentially with Cory Booker.

Two: How much will it hurt him really? If Booker does run and Christie beats him next year, it’ll be a morale booster for conservatives nationally who are still bummed about 2012. Then, eyeing a presidential run in 2016, he’ll start tacking to the right. He’ll do a lot of grumbling about Obama to media outlets to try to purge the lingering aftertaste of his Sandy press conference. He’ll also do some outreach to Latino voters and young voters, both in New Jersey and nationally, to build media buzz that he’s “building bridges” to key demographics that the GOP lost in 2012. (His Jersey persona lends itself to a paint-by-numbers “in touch with the middle class” narrative too.) He’ll have more viral-video confrontations and people will ooh and aah over those. He’ll stand out at the debates too as the brusque, no-nonsense guy among more polished candidates. The point in all this won’t be to ingratiate himself with grassroots conservatives; between the Sandy episode with O and his various other heresies, including his belief in man-made global warming, that bridge is probably burned. But, per my McCain/Romney point up top, it’s certainly possible to win the nomination even if grassroots righties disdain you, especially if the base is split several ways among other candidates (Rubio, Ryan, Paul?). I’m not saying he will win, just that it’s silly to write him or anyone off right now. We nominated Mitt Romney and John McCain, guys. Repeat that to yourselves until it sinks in. And then, when it does, tell me how you did it. Because it still hasn’t sunken in for me.

Anyway. Even if Christie rehabilitates himself in time, it won’t be anytime soon. Via Mediaite, here’s “The Five” dumping on him on yesterday’s show.

Blowback

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I sincerely hope that Christie is successful in his bid for a second term in New Jersey. But as a national candidate… he’s finished.

There are going to be quite a number of better choices in the next GOP primary, and I can’t imagine Republicans will take second look at a guy who gushed like a school-girl over Barack Obama just days before such an important election as the one we’ve just seen. Of course, that all hinges on whether we’re actually still having elections by 2016 and Barack Obama hasn’t had himself crowned King. {rolleyes}

I’m done with New England Republicans that claim the conservative mantel. So my question is why does the Republican Establishment, Kristol, Rove, Coulter, Will, et. al., still mine this area for a true conservative? Why because they are not conservative and as opposed to following these folks and their self-anointed power positions, THIS MUST CHANGE NOW! Seems like Kristol, Rove, Coulter, Will, etc., gimbals are so radically off they would go to Palm Beach for a pheasant hunt. If we are to survive we must defer the establishment in whole. There is no such thing as a liberal conservative but behold the liberal Republican and they are going to use all tools at their disposal to attempt to soften us up then once again run another Bush, McCain or Romney. Hey Kristol, I’ve flown with you and the American Standard twice, crashing twice so tell it walking. Subscription canceled.

I live and vote in NJ and I will be voting for Corey Booker and sending him some money to deafeat the traitor.

“And this the unkindest cut of all”
Christie is all about Christie and Romney found out too late. From his self serving nomination speech “enough about me what do you think about me” to stopping Romney’s momentum just before the election and making the most partisan Presidents in the modern era look Bipartisan, effective and presidential.

I have always given to Republican candidates, so I am waiting for Christie’s people to contact me for a donation so I can tell them directly how I feel.

New Jersey is a blue state. They elect blue congresscritters and blue presidents and they inflict their big government philosophy on the whole country.

So they should have a Democrat governor. They deserve a Democrat governor. Every good, responsible thing Christie manages to do for New Jersey just hurts the rest of the country.

So screw New Jersey. Screw New York. Screw Minnesota and Connecticut and Oregon and Massachusetts. Yes, screw California even though that is where I live. I should move. It is my fault I do not. I should pay the price for it.

Populations that want big government and the corruption of both finances and spirit that naturally goes with it deserve to get it good and hard. The sooner the better.

I want Christie to lose, preferably to someone to the left of Bernie Sanders. A real nutbag. Scare the rest of the country. Give it another object lesson.

While I think what he did was stupid and unhelpful to the Pubbie Party, it’s ignorant to make these blanket declarations about never supporting him, against any Proggie. This does nothing helpful in any way, whatsoever. Ive worked on campaigns, inside the RNC, going back decades. This whole mavericky streak and attempts to make these principled stances to “teach the party a lesson,” never teach the party jack spit, and just serve to remind one of how the Progs will always have the upper hand, because they refuse to be split up, even if their party has groups that actively work against them. So, we can have all these elf-proclaimed moral victories, but that will never translate to a ticket win. I also learned a long time ago, never say never regarding politics and politicians. Americans love underdogs,the little guy, the bullied and outcast, and most of all, they love, love, love giving 2nd chances.

Please get this traitorous wanker out of our face and start promoting real conservatives. No McCain’s, no Christie, none of the time. He is worthless to us. He will be hopping over to his bro dems after being dissed for being a traitorous obama lover. Good riddance.